Every time Ray Lewis straps it up could be his last. Lewis, who will retire after this year, and the Baltimore Ravens host the upstart Indianapolis Colts today in a wild-card game.

BALTIMORE — There’s no telling how effective Ray Lewis will be Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts after missing 12 weeks with a torn right triceps.

Fortunately, for the Ravens, he’s already provided an emotional lift.

With his announcement that he will step into retirement after Baltimore completes its 2013 playoff run, Lewis gave the slumping Ravens a boost heading into their wild-card game.

“Just having him back on the field is an inspiration,” Baltimore defensive coordinator Dean Pees said.

There are plenty of engaging story lines for this game, which pits Baltimore’s current NFL team against the one that left the city in a caravan of moving vans during a March 1984 snowstorm. The matchup features the return of Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, who served as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator last year and is back on the sideline after being treated for leukemia.

What’s more, Baltimore offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell was head coach at Indianapolis for three seasons, culminating his up-and-down run with last year’s 2-14 debacle. There’s also the Ravens’ playoff experience — this is their fifth straight trip under coach John Harbaugh — against a young Colts team that has 28 players making their postseason debut.

But nothing is more noteworthy than the pending retirement of the 37-year-old Lewis, who has been Baltimore’s starting middle linebacker for 17 years, or as long as the Ravens have been the Ravens.

On Sunday, the aged warrior will don his gear inside his home arena for perhaps one last time. Lewis will then emerge from the tunnel to perform his ceremonial dance, gyrating to the tune of Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” for the fervent, appreciative crowd.

“That’s when it’s going to hit me the most,” Ravens running back Ray Rice said. “That’s when I think it’s going to hit the city of Baltimore the most, that it could possibly be the last time coming through that tunnel. The emotions are going to be too rough to even think about, because Baltimore is Ray Lewis, and when he comes out of that tunnel, everybody is electrified.”

Lewis has always had an impeccable sense of timing, and his calculated announcement served as a perfect example of that trait. Baltimore (10-6) needed a boost after going 1-4 in December, and Lewis provided it Wednesday by telling his teammates “this would be my last ride.”

“He never talks about individual awards and accolades. He always talks about trying to get another trophy, another Lombardi,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said. “We’re one of 12 teams that have an opportunity to go out there and get it, and we want to send him out the right way.”

Pagano said, “Whether he announced his retirement or not, just having Ray back, having his presence on the football field, they have their leader back. That’s going to give any team an extra edge or spark.”

Pagano has been a similar source of inspiration for the Colts (11-5). He laid the groundwork for their comeback season during the summer, left after three games to receive treatment for leukemia and returned last week to guide Indianapolis to a 28-16 win over the Houston Texans.

Now he returns to Baltimore, with no small measure of emotion.

“It’s going to be special,” Pagano said. “I have great relationships with so many people in that organization. They were so good to me and my family. I wouldn’t be sitting where I’m at today if John Harbaugh hadn’t given me the opportunity to join him when he was first hired as a head football coach there.”

The Colts have the better record and more momentum, having won five of six and nine of 11. Baltimore has playoff experience and the home-field advantage; as AFC North champions the Ravens get to play at home, where they’ve won 33 of 40 since the start of the 2008 season.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been to the playoffs in each of his five NFL seasons. He’s won at least once in every postseason and twice has taken the Ravens to the AFC title game.

The Colts, on the other hand, will be sending top draft pick Andrew Luck up against Lewis and a defense that has a reputation for bullying rookie quarterbacks. Luck put up some impressive numbers in his first 16 NFL games, throwing for 300 yards on six occasions and running for five scores. But this will be his first foray in a win-or-go-home format.

“Hopefully, we can just try to make him look a rookie out there instead of a veteran quarterback,” Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said.

Luck played in the Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl with Stanford, but this will be a decidedly different situation.

“It’s uncharted territory for me,” Luck acknowledged. “It definitely has a different feel than a bowl game, because this isn’t what any of the teams want as an end prize, to win the first one.”

That’s the way Lewis feels, too. He didn’t work tirelessly for three months to return from his injury just to do his dance, make a few tackles, shower and head into retirement. He’s in it to add another Super Bowl ring to the one he earned after the 2000 season.

“Do I have four football games left in me? Yes, I have way more than that,” Lewis said. “I just had to make a decision to cut it off at four.”

The only way the Ravens will return home this postseason is if they win twice and the No. 5 seed Cincinnati Bengals also make it to the AFC title game. Barring that unforeseen scenario, this will be Lewis’ final dance in Baltimore.

“It’s going to be one hard last ride,” Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said, “and we need to make it one to remember.”

Seahawks-Redskins a

rookie showcase

By JOSEPH WHITE

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — How convenient. Those who can’t decide between Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson are literally getting a playoff.

RG3 or RW3? They’ve only had two of the best two rookie seasons for quarterbacks in NFL history, according to the numbers. Time to compare and contrast as much as possible Sunday as Griffin’s Washington Redskins host Wilson’s Seattle Seahawks in the NFC’s wild-card round.

“I don’t play against quarterbacks. It’s not my job to compare us,” Griffin told reporters this week. “You guys will do that. ... I hope you guys have fun.”

OK, Robert, we’ll take you up on that. Hey, Redskins Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, why is your guy better than theirs?

“I definitely would take his hair over Russell Wilson’s hair,” Williams said. “He’s taller. He has a couple of more endorsements than Russell does. That gives you grounds enough to take RG3 over Wilson. Way cooler TV commercials.”

Funny, but there might be some truth to that, at least when it comes to getting one’s due. Griffin has the dreadlocks. Wilson has the regular, clean-cut hairdo. Griffin is in your face with his Gatorade commercials and the ubiquitous Subway spots. Wilson did a more subtle bit for Levi’s.

Griffin won a Heisman Trophy, was the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, was anointed as starter from Day 1 of training camp and was selected as a team captain at midseason. Wilson was a third-round pick who had to wrest the starting job from big-contract free agent Matt Flynn. Griffin’s jersey is the No. 1 seller across the NFL this season, while Wilson’s is a mere No. 19.

Griffin’s slogan is “No pressure, no diamonds.” Wilson’s is “Separation is in the preparation.” Unlike Griffin, Wilson hasn’t bothered to trademark it.

RG3’s nickname stands alone . Wilson might have been “HW4” had he been born earlier, but it’s his older brother who got the name Harrison Wilson IV. Wilson also has “DangeRuss” — which he includes in his Twitter handle — while “RW3” is an upstart attempt to play around with Wilson’s jersey number.

Griffin is charisma personified, always ready with a humorous quip and the ready-made sound bite. Wilson can be engaging but often speaks in clichés. Or, as he put it: “I’m not about flash.”

Griffin crashed coach Mike Shanahan’s news conference Wednesday, asking the coach how he spent his New Year’s. It’s hard to imagine Pete Carroll getting the same shtick from Wilson.

Then there is geography. Griffin plays in the nation’s capital for a franchise that was winning titles back in the 1930s. Wilson is up there somewhere in the far corner of the map, toiling for a team born in the 1970s and without a Super Bowl trophy to its name.

Interestingly, the Redskins’ stadium is in Landover, Md., so Sunday will feature a team called Washington that doesn’t play in Washington playing a team from Washington that doesn’t call itself Washington.

“It’s `cause we’re out here in the Pacific Northwest, we don’t get no credit, just like the team,” Seahawks receiver Sidney Rice said.

As for the league’s offensive rookie of the year award, none of the above might win it: Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts could top them both after his sensational debut.

And, yet, for all those differences, Griffin and Wilson are actually quite similar. Both run the zone-read option, adding a dynamic that could revolutionize quarterback play in the NFL. Both have earned locker room respect by being studious and respectful, by showing leadership without appearing entitled. Wilson’s 100 passer rating would have set the new standard for rookie QBs if Griffin hadn’t posted a 102.4.

Want a challenge? Pick a random quote about either one and try to figure out whom it describes.

“He has a lot of the intangibles you look for in a quarterback. He’s really a class act. He’s handled himself extremely well and a fun guy to talk to. ... He’s got the intangibles you look for. He’s a natural leader as well. He’s playing some good football.”

For the record, that was Shanahan talking about Wilson.

Sunday’s game will be the second in NFL playoff history with two starting rookie quarterbacks, but this is a case where both the winner and loser are expected to prosper. Because of RG3 and RW3 (or whatever nickname sticks for Wilson), the Redskins and Seahawks have a chance to be very good for a very long time.

“Even though they have totally different styles in how they carry themselves,” Carroll said, “in the core, they’re really the real deal.”